Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

II • I" i es il al What we want to know is how that clam got on the air filter cover. By E. C. Birt In 1964, the first Hodaka arrived In the United States. Ever SInce then, the little red-framed bike with the chrome tank has' stayed basically th e same . Each new year saw little changes here and there with the weak points taken in stride and most of these problem poin ts im proved on. 24 H odaka knew th ey did n't have the ulti mate b ike and they n ever set o ut to m ake it o ne . They wanted to make a trail b ike that was rock sturdy, with de p en dability the first and most important point of the bike. Thousands of young beginning riders received their fir st case of gra vel-ras h from t his little red Japanese-built wonder. Nin ety percen t of the ti me, n o matter how hard they flogged it, they just couldn't kill it. Hodaka as a racer? Well, anything that's strong of heart will get raced soone r o r later. T he racer who's serious will look at all the b ikes o n the market and he will buy the one with the best possibilities. He should keep quality fo remost in min d before he plops down them hard-earned dollars. But what about the Begin ner just getting h is first bike w ith yon hill in th e corner of h is eye or the thought of some day giving it a go on a race track? Most motorcycle manufacturers come on with the hard se ll routine like all you h ave to do is plop yo ur $500 on the coun ter, Sonny, and go out and win every race you enter. Poppycock. Racers don't come off the assembly line at $500 a copy. The fundamental ingredients maybe; but not racers. Racing bikes are develo ped in stages with tender lo ving ca re, an d th e real racer represen ts a lot of sweat, blood, and dollars. After the first 90's, Hodaka built the Super Rat. It was a 100cc racer that the ave rage rider could go ou t and be co m petitive on but still had room left fo r that finis hing to uc h es t hat made it fit your n ee ds , if you were a real racer. I was a little d isap poin ted when the Combat first came out. Not with the bike, but with the color. They kept the chrome tank , but it lo o ked like t hey ra n o ut of red p ain t, so th ey pain ted th e frame b lack. After so man y years of r I just wasn't ready for b lack. Now, Hodaka has restored my f and come back with the fa miliar fra me and ch rome ta n k. This n ad dition to the Hodaka family is ca l the Dirt Squirt , a little bik e with family rider in mi nd, an d wi t h th e i of putting the f un b ac k . motorcycling. The Hodaka Super Ra t was a g bike; but it was too mu ch o n th e ra side for Dad to u se as a tr ailbike, high in th e saddle fo r Mom or beginning rider. With hundreds of Hodakas running around and keeping a very cl watch on p ublic o pi nion, the Pab a people saw the demand for a di ffer ty pe o f bi ke . So why n o t a scooter w gro w th p o ten tial since you ca n 't b uil bike that will fit every nee d for Mo to Jack Morgan's? With this in m they took a Wombat frame fo r a s and went from there. Wit h the Wombat frame, im provement in handling over the Su Rat is like t he di ff eren ce betwee n and nigh t. Where th e Super Rat m you feel like you were sitting on to a house, and every ti me you mad sharp t urn you got th e feeli ng you w going to highsi de, th e Dir t Sq uir t is I in the sad dle and eve n beginning ri with short legs can sit on it an d re the ground. Drive in to a hard tu rn it and you can control a lide with fear of high siding. I took a Dirt Sq ui rt out to the de to test it an d let you kn ow h o w little bike wo rks in that en viroi ..•_ First step was to un load it an d fill tank with that now hard-to p ush water. I pulled the bike out of box the day befo re we left and di have ti me to really set it u p . In fac j ust put it together. T wo kicks and the engine started couple of blips of the throttle an could tell the jetting was very clos no t spot on. Ninety-nine percent of time the jetting and timing is right the money on Hodakas from factory; but check both just to be the safe side . With an eye on a far hill I heade the camper to get my gear. As I tur my back, I heard the Squirt start up. Service Manager just swooped it, right back. I'm going to ma ke a p run with it," he ca lled ove r his shoul All day long, so me body was conning out of my bike. By the end of th e da finally managed a ride on it myself. The rear shocks, not too bad. In f they felt good to me. Sa me way the front for ks: no t too bad. If I going to use it fo r a trailb ike , I'd leav just like it is. 'Course, I'm lit tle -pe size myself: 135 Ibs. wet, with boots and two beers in me. The bike has all the neces goodies, like fold-up serrated pegs; sp arrestor pipe; knobby tires, front rear ; a very good air fil t er ; and a . soft enough to sit on fo r eight h withou t killing your rear end. So what can I say - if y ou de there's room in yo ur garage fo r ano bike, o r you're ready fo r your first and ca n talk yo ur folks in to it? little bike can be b uilt into what you want it to be. The engine is the SLone reli pro " S o u th A merica-and-back" Hodaka "B " engine. Daddy, you play tuner again , sim p ly. So sharpe you r files, an d clean o ff th a t be

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